KAMLOOPS – Head coach Pat Hennelly and the Thompson Rivers WolfPack men’s volleyball team added another piece to the puzzle today, as they announced the commitment of Owen Waterhouse.
“Excited to welcome Owen Waterhouse to the ‘Pack,” said Hennelly. “We have been talking to Owen for over a year about the potential of playing and studying here at TRU. Owen has a lot of potential as an outside hitter and is the type of quality person we are always looking to add to our program.”
Joining for the 2022-23 season, Waterhouse adds to the ever-growing Kelowna contingent on the team and will be welcomed by some familiar faces.
“Mason Sodaro and Rylan Ibbetson are two of my childhood best friends and it’s always been a dream of ours to play together,” said Waterhouse. “It’s pretty awesome to have this chance and I’m excited.”
A graduate of Kelowna Secondary, Waterhouse becomes the fourth player on the WolfPack roster from Kelowna and plans on studying general arts at TRU.
“I have had solid connections with Kelowna coaches for a few years,” said Hennelly. “Kelowna has been a city that has also developed a lot of talent. I think Sam Taylor Parks was the first high profile Kelowna recruit and also a KSS graduate. Sam had a solid U SPORTS career here and is now in his second year playing professionally in Europe. That always helps when a local kid does well at your program.”
Despite the rivalry between the two cities, there won’t be any divided loyalties from the 6-3 left side.
“I’m ready to switch it up and be all in for Kamloops,” said Waterhouse. “It’s pretty cool to have a bunch of Kelowna guys on the team… I’m going to have to officially go with rivers over lakes moving forward.”
Waterhouse graduated high school in 2021 but chose to delay heading to university for a year, instead playing a full club volleyball season with the Jr. Heat. He is now excited at the chance to join a program that he’s long admired.
“Pat is awesome, he’s a really good guy and I’d love to play for him,” said Waterhouse. “I’ve always liked TRU, it’s a good school and I enjoyed playing in tournaments here.”
Describing himself as a bouncy left side that likes to swing as hard as he can and go right at the block, Waterhouse is more than willing to put in the work to make the transition to the U SPORTS level.
“I’m excited to get a lot of repetitions in this year and just play with guys at this level,” said Waterhouse. “If I train hard I think that even if I don’t get a bunch of playing time this year that I can work myself up into becoming quite the player and help contribute.”
Owen Waterhouse
Position: Left side
Height: 6 ft 3″
Hometown: Kelowna, BC
Last team played for: Kelowna Secondary School
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